TCA: Fred Willard Would Have Been “A Distraction”, PBS CEO Says

PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger fielded questions about Fred Willard during today’s TCA presentation. Willard was dropped from the PBS show Market Warriors after his Wednesday arrest in Hollywood at an adult theater for alleged lewd conduct. Mark Walberg, the host of Antiques Roadshow, has stepped in to take over Willard’s role as narrator. “We are actually in production with that series, and at the end of the week when it became known, we realized we had to move fast because we are taping now, it’s a new series,” Kerger said. “His circumstances would have become a distraction to the series. We talked to him and decided we would bring in Mark Walberg, who is hosting Antiques Roadshow. We asked Mark to do both.” She added that the two are companion shows so having Walberg do both provides a natural link between the two.